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NBA Coach Approval Ratings - March
This NBA season, we’re giving you, SportsNation, the opportunity to cast your vote of approval, or disapproval, of the job your favorite team’s head coach is doing. Is he molding a winning team and inspiring championship-level play from his team? Or is he constantly tinkering with the offense and defense resulting in sloppy, erratic play? Is he making good decisions on the court and saying all the right things off the court? Or is he making crucial mistakes that cost the team games and then deflecting the blame?
The following are the latest results from the 2005-06 SportsNation NBA Head Coach Approval Ratings:
| NBA Coach Approval Ratings - March |
Lawrence
Frank
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0%
Team: Detroit Pistons
Record: 64-18
Votes: 0
Nets pick good time to peak
New Jersey was just four games over .500 on the morning of March 12 after losing five of its previous six games. The Nets haven't lost since, winning 11 straight games to finish March, including victories over Dallas, Phoenix and on the road against Washington and Detroit. The emergence of Nenad Krstic as a consistent threat in the post has meant the world to New Jersey's Big Three of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson. Vote
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Scott
Skiles
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0%
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 40-42
Votes: 0
Bulls take advantage of lesser opponents, still finish below .500 in March
The Bulls appear to be comfortable in their own skin. En route to a 7-9 month, Chicago defeated just one team with a winning record (New Jersey), but had no problem with lesser opponents like New York, Atlanta, Portland, Boston and Charlotte. The Bulls easily could've won games against Eastern heavyweights, Cleveland and Miami, only to lose by one point in each game. Vote
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Mike
D'Antoni
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0%
Team: New York Knicks
Record: 23-59
Votes: 0
Poor defense and return of Amare seems to throw Suns off track slightly
On the surface, an 11-6 month doesn't appear too bad. But for the Phoenix Suns, there are a few holes to patch. The return of Amare Stoudemire from his knee injury appeared to throw off the team's rhythm more than help it. In addition, Phoenix allowed over 109 points per game and 49 percent shooting. The Suns suffered some bad losses - to the Spurs by 24, Nets by 38 and Bucks by 22. But with Stoudemire possibly out for the remainder of the season after his unsuccessful return, maybe the Suns can get back into gear knowing that they'll have to move forward without him. Vote
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Rick
Carlisle
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0%
Team: Dallas Mavericks
Record: 60-22
Votes: 0
Pacers struggle but still hang on to seventh spot in East
If you watched the Pacers in March, you know exactly why they can't shake free of the .500 mark. They didn't win consecutive games all month and finished the month with their first three-game losing streak since the end of January. This season, Indiana is a combined 0-9 versus Boston, Toronto and Atlanta, none of which will make the playoffs. Vote
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Byron
Scott
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0%
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 50-32
Votes: 0
Hornets hanging onto playoff hopes by a thread after dreadful March
New Orleans/Oklahoma City may have run out of gas. The Hornets have just a couple more weeks to prove otherwise. Separate losing streaks of eight and four games put the Hornets behind the eight-ball for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Despite their difficulties maintaining a healthy roster, they entered April just two games behind Sacramento for that No. 8 seed. Vote
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Avery
Johnson
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0%
Team: New Jersey Nets
Record: 49-33
Votes: 0
Mavericks endure worth month of season, look to rebound in April
Dallas has picked a poor time to begin a slide. After losing 11 games in the first four months of the season, Dallas lost eight games in the month of March alone. On the positive side, most of the team's losses came against some of the best teams in the NBA (Spurs, Suns, Nets, Pistons, Cavaliers). The Mavericks' late-season struggles are not the fault of Dirk Nowitzki, who continued his MVP-type season by averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds per game. Vote
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George
Karl
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0%
Team: Denver Nuggets
Record: 44-38
Votes: 0
Carmelo and Nuggets continue to be class of Northwest Division
Denver went 11-5 in March, including a 5-2 road trip, and continued to easily outdistance the rest of the Northwest Division. Carmelo Anthony is a huge reason why. His maturation and consistency hasn't gone unnoticed. Anthony scored at least 30 points in eight of his last 10 games in March, as the Nuggets beat the likes of Detroit, Memphis and San Antonio. Vote
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Doc
Rivers
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0%
Team: Boston Celtics
Record: 33-49
Votes: 0
Celtics struggle to put wins together
Boston continues to have difficulty putting together a winning streak. The Celtics have yet to win more than two in a row this season, which is quite amazing for a team playing over .400 ball. Boston only got two wins against winning teams all month (Indiana and Washington), but the Celtics have been able to beat the teams they should beat, for the most part. Vote
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Gregg
Popovich
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0%
Team: San Antonio Spurs
Record: 63-19
Votes: 0
Spurs remain consistent, hold on to top spot in West
San Antonio went 12-4 in March as the Spurs continue to hold off Dallas for home-court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs enjoyed quality wins against Dallas, Phoenix twice and the Clippers and Lakers on the road. And San Antonio's defense remained the key as the Spurs allowed 90.9 points per game in March. Vote
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Rick
Adelman
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0%
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 33-49
Votes: 0
Kings jump into eighth spot as April begins
Sacramento's 11-6 March, combined with a poor month by the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, has the Kings in command for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It was their second straight winning month and it featured some very good wins. The Kings knocked off the Grizzlies, Mavericks, Lakers, Cavaliers and Nets - the latter two on the road. A very impressive month for a team that needed it. Vote
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Nate
McMillan
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0%
Team: Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 21-61
Votes: 0
Trail Blazers limping toward finish line
Portland looks like a team that's thrown in the towel on the 2005-06 season. The Blazers lost their final nine games of March, and 10 of their 13 losses in the month came by double digits. Interestingly, their only two wins came against the Lakers and Suns. Nate McMillan doesn't know who he's going to get contributions from on any given night as evidenced by the fact that Portland had six different leading scorers in the final seven games of the month. Vote
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Mike
Brown
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0%
Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 45-37
Votes: 0
Cavs clinch first playoff berth in eight years
LeBron James was 13 years old the last time the Cavaliers reached the playoffs. With a convincing victory over Dallas, Cleveland clinched its first playoff berth since 1998 and is showing signs of progress as the playoffs near. As Cleveland appeared to be on its way to another post-All Star letdown, James took charge and wouldn't let the team falter. Flip Murray has also added a nice dimension at the defensive end on many nights. Cleveland finished March on a six-game winning streak. Vote
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Dwane
Casey
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0%
Team: Toronto Raptors
Record: 27-55
Votes: 0
Wolves lose any chance at playoffs with terrible 10-day stretch
Minnesota lost seven straight games in a 10-day span in March, putting an end to its already-slim playoff hopes. The highlight of the month came on the 21st when the Wolves knocked off the Heat. The lowlight, besides Minnesota's apparent first non-playoff season in 10 years, continues to be the constant chatter about whether or not Kevin Garnett will be traded during the offseason. Stay tuned. Vote
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Stan
Van Gundy
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0%
Team: Orlando Magic
Record: 36-46
Votes: 0
Heat struggle with consistency without Shaq
Miami did nothing in November to quiet the preseason talk of Pat Riley taking over for Stan Van Gundy in the future. Playing without Shaquille O'Neal for all but two games, Miami has really scuffled to find its rhythm so far this season. But the Heat still lead the Southeast Division, which doesn't appear too strong after a month of play. Dwyane Wade has been all-World, but finding a consistent secondary option has not been easy. Alonzo Mourning has filled in very capably for Shaq, but this team will be much better off when so much isn't asked of Alonzo. Vote
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